Elder Abuse: New Recommendations For Governments To Protect Older People

June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. And this year, a new Australian report was released on this very subject.

After a 15 month investigation by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), the Elder Abuse—A National Legal Response was presented.

In it was 43 different recommendations of law reform to help protect older people from abuse and protect their autonomy.

Elder abuse can come in many forms, whether it be physical, emotional, it can even be financial abuse where people take advantage of an elderly person’s finances.

ALRC’s recommendations cover abuse experienced at home, in residential care as well as barriers to financial elder abuse through banking, superannuation and wills and estates.

The report, with detailed strategies and priorities for action, is targeted at federal and state governments, requesting that they develop a new national plan to stop elder abuse.

Approximately one third of the commission’s recommendations revolved around new reforms for residential and community aged care.

One of the recommendations proposed a new benchmark for adequate staffing levels in aged care and that there be a more extensive process in place for screening staff. Something that many advocacy groups and aged care workers have been suggesting for a long time now.

Another recommendation that was made was to develop a new “serious incident response scheme, which would require approved providers to notify an independent oversight body of any allegations or suspicions of serious incidents and for an investigation to take place.

The ALRC have suggested that the independent oversight body should be the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner.

The definition of a “serious incident”, particularly in aged care against a resident is;

any sort of physical, sexual or financial abuse

inappropriate, improper, inhumane or cruel treatment

unexplained serious injury

neglect

And should it involve and incident between two aged care residents, it means;

sexual abuse

physical abuse causing serious injury

an incident that is part of a pattern of abuse

In home care, a serious incident would include physical, sexual or financial abuse committed by a staff member against the person receiving care.

Another recommendation proposes regulation around the use of restrictive practices in residential aged care facilities stating that they should be the least restrictive and used only as a last resort, after alternative strategies have been considered, to prevent serious physical harm.

It has also been suggested that there be a new independent “senior practitioner” for aged care to provide “expert leadership on and oversight of the use of restrictive practices”, and with that providers should be required to record and report their use of restraints.

ALRC President Professor Rosalind Croucher, who was the Commissioner-in-charge of the inquiry, emphasised the importance of developing recommendations for elder care in the new report, “we have worked to balance the autonomy of older people with providing appropriate protections, respecting the choices that older persons make, but also safeguarding them from abuse”.

(Visited 307 times, 1 visits today)

Read Next Story

Contributor

HelloCare - Journalist Team

HelloCare is Australia’s premier source of aged care content and daily news crafted specifically for the Australian senior audience.
We produce fresh content on a daily basis across all forms of media, covering a wide variety of topics that resonate with our audience, shining a light on elderly issues with expert opinions from those within the industry.
Here at HelloCare we believe that self-worth is derived from the value that others place on you and your issues, and we are committed to ensuring that elderly Australians and those within the aged care industry have a reliable and trustworthy hub for online news, education and entertainment.
We believe the elderly are undervalued, and we are doing everything we can to change that perception.

As Australia braced itself for the devastating effects of a pandemic, nursing homes around the country held strong as our last line of defence in protecting this country’s most vulnerable people.
The heightened level of risk required an equally cautious approach to safety protocols, and visitor restriction became a necessary evil amongst stringent infection control methods.
Like all providers, Regis Aged Care has been forced to prioritise resident safety over social interaction, but a story that recently unfolded...

A disability carer stole almost $30,000 from her quadriplegic client over two years, but the judge said her cooperation with investigators and remorse meant her sentencing required “leniency”.
According to a report by the ABC, Mackay District Court heard the theft was a "gross abuse of her position of trust" to her client, a 64-year-old man who had been confined to a wheelchair since a car accident in 1993.
In sentencing, Judge Ian Dearden said, "You are dealing...

The NSW coroner will investigate all COVID-19-related deaths at Newmarch House.
The western Sydney aged care facility saw 70 people become infected with the virus and 17 residents die, in what became Australia’s most deadly outbreak.
Of Australia’s 102 deaths in total, nearly 17 per cent were at Newmarch House.
Staff member carried virus into the home
The COVID-19 virus first entered the home when an employee worked six shifts while displaying mild symptoms, only later discovering she was carrying the...

Popular Stories

When 31-year-old carer Jamie Lee Morley first heard aged care resident Margaret Mackie sing, he automatically assumed that the beautiful voice he heard was coming from a nearby radio.
While it is certainly not uncommon for aged care staff and residents to develop strong bonds, nobody at the Northcare Suites Care Home in Glasgow, Scotland, could have imagined what would happen next.
The pair were recently thrust into the public spotlight as heartwarming footage of the young carer and the...

Related Stories

The ACT Coroner says he was not able to determine if a medication mix up contributed to the death of an elderly woman in 2016.
Viola Clarke died on 20 February 2016, with the cause of death recorded as aspiration pneumonia.
But two days later, Dr Carolyn Droste referred the case to the coroner, following an allegation that two weeks prior Ms Clarke had been given the wrong medication at the nursing home where she lived, and the medication may...